Backed by the Warhawk family, Meghan Dunning perseveres after family loss

May 07, 2024

Strength is a concept that carries many different meanings. Often, it is seen only as a trait that one is born with, or as something that we must find from within ourselves on an independent journey.

While these both can be true for many people, there is still another side to what makes a person strong — a side that Meghan Dunning, a communication sciences and disorders major, has discovered over her four years at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

 

Family and softball

A native of Plainfield, Illinois, Dunning graduated from Plainfield South High School in 2020. Ever since she was a child, softball has been an important aspect of her life — it was a sport that her family had always encouraged her love for as she grew up.

Dunning has been playing softball for 15 years, acquiring and refining numerous skills that allowed her to grow into a remarkably talented player. Still, Dunning attributes much of the driving force that kept her in the sport throughout her childhood to the unwavering support of her family, including her father, Mike, and mother, Jean.

Jean was a skilled photographer and a strong encourager of her daughter’s interests from the start. She was able to combine these two passions by taking photos to capture moments from her daughter’s softball games. Jean’s support was so fierce and prominent that Dunning can recall, in detail, an instance of it from as far back as early middle school.

“When I was 11, my mom was taking a picture of me during a game,” Dunning said with a smile as she recounted the memory. “I had hit a single and was safe, but the other team was trying to argue that I was out. My mom then pulled out the picture she had just taken of me during that moment and showed it to them, proving that I was actually safe.”

 

 

“Since the first day I met Meghan and her parents during the recruiting process, I knew she would be a great fit for our program,” said Brenda Volk, head coach of the Warhawk softball team since 1999. “Meghan embodies everything that we look for in a Warhawk softball player and person. If I had to pick one word that describes Meghan, it would be resilient.”

Dunning’s first two seasons were a showcase of her softball talent. She helped lead UW-Whitewater to a conference championship in 2021 and earned back-to-back all-conference awards, including first team honors as a sophomore in 2022.

 

 

Mike and Jean Dunning took on the “team parents'' role for the Warhawk softball team, playing a large role in organizing and supporting the team during her first year. They were known for contributing to the team’s logistical organization — setting up gatherings, booking hotels and restaurants for when the team traveled — and for building relationships with each team member so that every player felt they had fans in the stands during their games. The Dunnings brought an energy of love and genuine care in their contributions to the team.

 

A jarring loss, and an outpouring of support

In June of 2022, Jean Dunning passed away unexpectedly. This loss weighed heavily on every member of the Dunning family, and had a large impact on the many people whose hearts had been touched by Jean. As a full-time student and active softball player, Dunning had to learn to grapple with this devastating loss while taking care of her academic and athletic commitments.

She leaned on another member of the Warhawk family, Lynn Gilbertson, associate professor and department chair of communication sciences and disorders, who provided a safe space for Dunning to talk and cry to during her grieving process — Gilbertson had been through a similar experience herself.

By building a connection with a professor in her major who truly understood the complex emotions and day-to-day experience of someone living with grief, Dunning had found a new source of support while living at college. She no longer felt as though she had to carry this emotional weight all on her own.

“I have the biggest support system ever,” Dunning said. “My family as a whole, as well as the people who have experienced something similar to what I went through — the assistant coaches and professors — helped me get through it.”

Still, despite having to cope with the loss of her mother, as well as the ebbs and flows that come with being a collegiate student-athlete, those around Dunning remarked how she has always maintained a positive attitude both on and off the field. She exudes the type of strength that exists despite it all. The type of strength that comes from her individual resilience and a community.

Dunning mentioned how it was not only the faculty and staff members in her life who never failed to show their care and provide resources for her during such a low point. The other players on the UW-Whitewater softball team had recognized all that Dunning and her family had contributed to bettering the team’s experience and energy, and had the collective desire to show their teammate their unconditional support during her time of need.

When Jean passed, everyone on the team felt the ache of such an immense loss. Volk described a moving sentiment of the team’s expression of sympathy and support for Dunning.

“I am proud of a lot of things that have happened during my time coaching, but nothing will compare to how proud I am of how our team and alumni show up for each other,” Volk said. “We wanted to leave no doubt in Meg’s mind that we would be there for her always — day or night, any time, any place.

“When the Dunnings had Jean’s celebration of life, Meghan’s entire Warhawk family, including current and past teammates, coaches, parents of her teammates, all showed up wearing purple and walked in together. We just wanted Meg to know how much we loved her and would always be there for her. That still stands true — today and always.”

 

 

A bright future built by strength

Throughout her time at UW-Whitewater, through her highest and lowest moments, with all the connections she has made and the community she has helped build, Dunning feels as though she has significantly changed as a person since her freshman year in ways that she never would have imagined. Just as past assistant coaches, professors, and faculty members had been for her, she found herself becoming a strong figure of support for those around her to look up to.

“I came in as this little freshman who was so scared, then I turned into one of these bigger leaders who people could come to for advice,” she said.

Dunning and the Warhawks head into this weekend’s Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament looking for a second straight trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Dunning, a shortstop, has started all 36 games for UW-Whitewater entering the postseason. She hit her third home run of the year in a recent win against regionally-ranked UW-Stevens Point.

 

 

Dunning is set to graduate this Saturday with a B.S. in communication sciences and disorders and a strong slate of other experiences — she also holds a minor in psychology and was on the executive board of UW-Whitewater’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

She plans to remain a member of the Warhawk family and pursue an M.S. in speech-language pathology at UW-Whitewater. She also may continue to help out with the softball program that has shown her endless support over the years while she remains on campus.

“If I had to give one piece of advice to someone going through something similar to what I did, it would be to seek help, whether that is counseling, talking to a loved one, or a friend.” Dunning said. “Whether it is someone you are close with, or someone you are paying, it is important to find that support.”

Dunning’s journey of personal growth and finding stability during life’s shakiest moments is one that gives a definition to the nuanced word that is “strength.”

Strength is being a beacon of support and light for everyone around you. Strength is seeking out help in the darkest of times, and accepting the reaching arms of your community. Strength is holding onto parts of yourself while you grow into someone your younger self would look up to. Strength is internal, and it is collective. Strength is family.